Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt 'joked about who would die first'

Status Quo bandmates Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt often joked about death and chatted about which of them they thought would die first.

Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt would "joke about who would die first" and how they would pass away.

Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt

The Status Quo rock star has opened up about his late band mate - who sadly aged 68 in 2016 from sepsis following an infection of a pre-existing shoulder injury - and he admitted they often used to wonder how they would go.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday's EVENT magazine, Francis said: "Me and Rick [Parfitt] used to joke about who would die first. We would laugh our heads off and describe ways in which we died - always crazy overdoses.

"I swore it would be me. He swore it would be him. If we'd ever been successful in America both of us would be long dead because we'd have had even more money to blow on booze and cocaine. But Rick was right in the end. I sobered up and he never did."

Francis added he has calmed down from the rock 'n' roll antics of the 'Rockin' All Over The World' prime in the 1970s, and he is now content to grow old.

He joked: "If you want to know what I really like doing, it's sitting here at home waiting for death. I'm an old man. I'm nearly 70... I love trees. I love jigsaw puzzles and crosswords and shows like Endeavour and Vera on the telly.

"And, when you get to my age, I'll be doing my jigsaw one minute then my head will be hanging and I'll have drifted off for ten minutes. It's lovely. Those little catnaps are absolute bliss."

Meanwhile, in his memoirs 'I Talk Too Much: My Autobiography', the guitarist revealed how he still sees his friend in his dreams.

He wrote: "Since he went, I've been dreaming about Rick as though he's not dead. In my dreams he's always got a big smile on his face, like he often had in life.

"I say, 'I thought you were dead!' He says, 'Yeah, well, you know.' And I think, yep, that's Rick. Turning up even though he's dead. Typical."